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Bingo. 21 pitch is fine. I went out alone with my new (to me) Optimax 90 and I love it. Really nice machine. I hit about 42-43 at 5500 RPM, and got one reading as high as 45, with a full tank, but just me on board. It seems to have two modes with the trim that I'm not used to, I think I can trim it up and start making it chop the water (top blades probably not hitting) and I can get to 43+ that way but it will be turning 5600-5700 RPM. Then I can lower the nose a bit and it will bite a little harder and I can lower the RPM quite a bit and still maintain 40, so I think that's probably better mileage. I can run 42 pretty easily though with almost any reasonable trim. The two modes I'm describing also have an influence on torque steer too that I never noticed before. If I'm running along and trim up, I can adjust torque steer with it. Too much trim, pulls left, too little, pulls right. This might have something to do with the countersteer plate, not sure. It is aimed to steer left a little, but maybe I'm changing how the water is hitting it. I'll have to wait until my wife drives it so I can see what's happening.

Beautiful day here, 75°, nice to be back on the water! Yay!